Stacked

Despite the million and one things that need to be done around here, at least one thing is finished, and that’s this year’s wood. I’m glad for that, but let me tell you, it was a bit of a rush. I know people who split and burn, but I personally think the longer it has to dry, the better. Ideally it would have a year to sit, but when does that ever happen? Actually, more often than you’d think.

Either way, I had the wood sitting around, it was just a question of splitting and stacking it, and now it’s finally done. I have to confess, I rather enjoy looking at a completed wood pile. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing, but it’s nice now and then to see the fruits of one’s labors, is it not?

I still haven’t heard from our wood man, though he’s come through for us every year and I shouldn’t fret, but I have considered talking to another logger. Even he might not be able to get me wood, but it’s good to get the word out. You just never know.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Sarah Fleming for the pic.

Changing of the Guard

As part of our quest for homeschooling endeavors, we attended a Civil War re-enactment over in Lyme, and I have to confess, I was not as enthused as I could have been. I guess (incorrectly) I sort of grouped the Civil War re-enactment crowd with the Medieval/Renaissance re-enactment crowd, sort of fringe-ish and perhaps a little eccentric. Well, I have to say, I was wrong on a number of counts.

First off, the act was pretty cool. Sure, it’s a bunch of middle-aged guys wearing uniforms and shooting guns, but they did a nice job, and the really rewarding part for me was talking to them and learning about the conditions. Not only was it informative, but the actors were very knowledgeable and not pretentious. I learned a lot, and the kids had fun. I’ll say this much, I never had fun learning history in school, and I think seeing it and talking to the people (even though they’re actors) makes a big difference. We even got to eat hard tack, which for the record is pretty nasty stuff.

All in all, I highly recommend attending one of these shows, they do a great job and you sure learn a lot about a really significant part of this country’s history. Also, the mom and the kids went to the Precision Museum and learned about Civil War weapons, many of which were made up here for use in the Union Army. That’s kind of cool, isn’t it?

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Don Shall for the pic.

Inching Along

People who have any knowledge about our barn are not going to believe this, but we are actually in the process of putting up siding. I can’t believe it myself. After all the drama of choosing siding and obtaining the stuff, I finally managed to get some of the stuff up. It’s pretty straightforward, except that I have to stain it before putting it on, which delays the whole process. Cutting the boards to fit properly around windows and doors adds to the time, and working around the return on the soffit almost killed me, but progress is being made. I know some people in this house are happy about it, and people who stop by all comment on the fact that something is actually happening. Sometimes you have take what you can get.

Anyway, like I said, it is a bit of pain, because I have to measure out the boards, cut them and slide them in place, remove and paint them, then wait for them to dry. I’m guessing a professional contractor, or my Mentor or the Amazing PR Man, would simply measure the distance, calculate how many boards it would take, cut and paint them, and then nail them in. Somehow that sort of approach never works for me. I have to put them in place first, make sure they fit properly, and then paint and nail them in.

Whatever be the case, it’s moving along, albeit at a snail’s pace. Part of the problem is I can only dedicate 1-2 hour increments of time, because I am constantly being called away to cook meals, pick up the kids, cook falafels, or take N golfing or to the skate park. I would love 4-5 hours of uninterrupted time to work on it, but around here, that sort of time is a luxury item.

The reality is the situation is not ideal, but when is that ever the case? You have to make lemons, right? I’m glad things are at least progressing, and if anything, I’m getting better at it with time, like fine wine, right? Yeah, right.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.

Happy Birthday to Us and Making Contact

What a way to celebrate our birthdays, selling falafels. Another birthday came and went and it was sort of nice doing the market because it takes your mind off having another birthday, which I am not so keen on making a big deal out of. For the record, I did not hear from my mom or brother, but there’s more to that story than meets the eye.

We had a pretty quiet day, we were at the market, and the cupcake folks next to us gave us extra cupcakes for our big day. We stopped at our favorite place, Boloco, who gives us free burritos on our birthday. I love that place. We came home, had our cupcakes, and the kids put together a little birthday celebration for us. They made cards, presents, and we opened gifts from J&RR. It was cute, the kids have a way of being cute and endearing, it breaks my heart sometimes.

It was a fitting end to a long and tiring day doing falafels. The market was a little slow, but not too bad, and we survived to sell falafels another day. On the subject of my mom, I was going to call her on my birthday and remind her, but figured that would just piss her off. I did, however, call her a couple of days later because several months ago she requested that we come and visit her. She said she wanted me to clean out her my stuff, and she wanted A&N to meet their cousin, TL, my brother’s daughter. I told her we’d come out, but never specified when, and then summer came and went.

I figured she’d be livid with me, and the conversation would be painful, but it wasn’t like that at all. She was very congenial, and our conversation was nice. She never wished me a happy birthday, but she did something that for the life of me I don’t recall her every doing - she asked me if I was happy. When I said yes, she said that’s the most important thing. Wow, what a shocker.

We talked at length, and she again requested that we come and visit her, and I think we should. It will be a little awkward, but sometimes you have to be a man and deal with these things. It will involve seeing my brother, which I’m not looking forward to, but that’s a whole other story.

In the end, I’m glad I made the call, and hope that things will work out this time around.

Until then, thanks for reading.

New Stove Developments

Just when you thought you had it all figured out, new things come along and throw the situation into disarray. We were considering getting a new stove when the idea of having our old one fixed became more appealing, and for a couple of reasons. First off, our Vermont Castings Defiant is an old school stove, the first ones built by the company, and apparently they burn so hot that they had to redesign subsequent models so they didn’t burn so hot. My Mentor relayed this story to me, but I’d heard that the old VC stoves provided great heat.

With this in mind, getting a new stove, unless we got a big and expensive one, would have probably meant not getting as much heat. Possible, but not for sure. The second issue is that I’d read a few message boards and some issues seemed to come up with the Jotul stove we were interested in. Something to do with the damper malfunctioning and letting too much air in. I can’t say for sure, but some people said they would never get a Jotul again, though they were the minority.

Then there’s the issue of cost. A new stove is over $2000, while fixing our old one would be half that cost, if not even less. Finally, we really like our old stove, and I’m a big believer in fixing things and using them for as long as possible. The big issue was finding a person to fix it, and getting it to them. My Mentor was kind enough to offer the use of his truck, which can haul small buildings and has a lift. I was trying to figure out how to move the thing and even bought a furniture dolly at Home Depot ($20, not bad), when I happened upon a guy near Conway who specializes in VC stoves. He even travels to fix them.

He was willing to come to our house to fix our stove, and just needed to know some specific information. I’m guessing the repair will take about a day, and then it should be like a “new” old stove. There are other assorted repairs that need to be done, but apparently they are doable, and we’ve decided to go for it. The cost will be in the range that I expected, about half the cost of a new one, but we will have our beloved stove back, and won’t have to deal with transporting it.

I’m all for it, but won’t jump for joy until the deed is done. Stay tuned for more.

Until then, thanks for reading.

Splitting Time

I managed to locate a splitter, and our good friend JP said we could use it as long as we need it. What a great guy. I also managed to find someone who could help me move it in the form of my Mentor, who not only has a truck that can move mountains, but it has the right sized trailer hitch. I didn’t realize they came in different sizes, whose idea was that? JM said he would help, but his trailer hitch is the wrong size, and he said he would try to locate a bigger one. He lives very close to JP, so it would have been easy, but I didn’t know when the proper hitch would be located, and who’s got the time to wait? Not us, that’s for sure.

My Mentor came over and we hooked up the splitter and brought it home. It was all pretty painless, and we even fired the thing up. As usual I was pensive about using the thing, but my Mentor told me to be a man and just go for it. It took a few tries to get it started, during which we learned about optimal throttle and choke settings, and before we knew it, we were splitting logs. Pretty impressive stuff, and as much as I enjoy splitting wood by hand, I have to confess, that machine is pretty amazing. It splits pieces of wood that I couldn’t split in a hundred years. Maybe two hundred.

We probably have at least a cord of wood that’s been accumulating for the past several years, so now I can not only split it, but clean up the pile and make our yard look better, as well. I love when that happens.

Until then, thanks for reading.

Mini Skirt

Before embarking on this whole siding adventure with the barn, there are many decisions that need to be made, and sometimes the decisions are the hardest part. One of these choices involved what sort of trim we wanted to have, and when it comes to choosing trim, the sky is the limit. There are issues of size, color, types of wood, etc. Early on we decided to install a skirt, which is a horizontal slab of wood that runs the perimeter of the barn, near the ground. Since siding incurs a lot of water damage, a skirt is more easily repaired/replaced than the siding, and it looks nice, as well. I, of course, asked everyone I knew what their opinion was, and they all pretty much said the same thing - it’s all a question of personal taste, i.e., it’s up to you. Thanks a lot. I did get a load of helpful advice from my Mentor, who not only has good taste, but is always uber-helpful. He informed me that the skirt is flush with the siding, which makes putting the siding up a whole lot easier, especially when you’re riding solo, because the siding boards rest on top of the skirt.

Anyway, before I could put up siding, I had to put up a skirt, and then a drip guard, but the process has begun. Sure, it ain’t much, but it’s a start, and that’s more than we had a month ago. Sometimes you have to look at the bright side, right?

Until the next time, thanks for reading.